Lay of the Land
The nature of the land shapes the kingdom’s identity and history. Many of the player characters’ actions in Karameikos are influenced by its terrain. A brief geography lesson can impart a feeling for the land and an understanding of where various features lie. Pull the maps out of this box. We want to look first at the map of the Kingdom of Karameikos. Don’t let the hexes throw you; their purpose will be made clear at the end of this section. Let’s concentrate on the land and its cities. Land Patterns A continuous line of mountains forms Karameikos’s entire northern border, acting as both a barrier to forces beyond and as a lair for evil races and monsters. This spine of mountains runs the length of this northern border but is called by different names in different places. In western Karameikos, they are called the Cruth Mountains, and are notable for their soft, greenish-tinged hornblende and the frequency of their landslides. In central Karameikos, basalt is more common, and the mountains here are called the Black Peaks, so named for their ebony promontories. In eastern Karameikos, the range joins the much larger Altan Tepes Mountains and has the tallest peaks in the nation. Here, the mountain range broadens, continuing north toward dwarven Rockhome in one direction and turning sharply southeast into the imperial lands of Thyatis in the other. The highest peak of the range, Mt. Tarsus (alt. 11,380 feet) stands to the east beyond Karameikos’s borders. Forest vegetation thickly covers these mountains, gradually thinning to bare rock toward the peaks. The average height of mountains in the Black Peak and Cruth ranges is 4,000-4,500 feet. The Altan Tepes rise from an average of around 4,000 feet in the west to 9,000 in the east; a number of peaks jut above the timberline. South of this huge range are miles and miles of foothills thickly covered with forest. In western Karameikos, hilly country extends to the shores of the Gulf of Halag; in eastern Karameikos, the most southerly foothills lie within 20 miles of the coastline. Much of the rest of the kingdom is cradled in the crescent formed by these hills, wedged between them and the Sea of Dread to the south. It is flat, pleasant land, sometimes with gently rolling hills, covered with woods and heavy forest. The land slopes very gently from the northern mountains to the southern coast. The northernmost flatlands (the Cruth lowlands of western Karameikos) are about 1,500 feet above sea level; the flatlands south of the Black Peak Mountains rise to about 1,000 feet above sea level. Vegetation Karameikos is one of the most thickly wooded nations of the world. In the northern parts of the kingdom, pine forests cover the mountain slopes and the hillsides. As travelers move farther south, they encounter more hardwoods – especially oak. In the southernmost parts of the Dymrak Forest in eastern Karameikos, ancient oaks tower into the sky as far as the eye can see. Three great tracts of dense forest lie in Karameikos. The Riverfork Woods sprawls in the far west, near the border with the nation of halflings (known to themselves as the hin) called the Five Shires. This thick forest was called the Achelos Woods in the original Traladaran language and remains largely unexplored, uninhabited by humans (except for the soldiers garrisoned at Riverfork Keep), and somewhat dark-hearted. Commonly blanketed in thick fog that drifts in from the Blight Swamp to the south, the woods have been chartered to a number of small clans of Alfheim elf refugees who have fled into Karameikos. The woods are known officially as the Estate of Achelos. The Radlebb Wood sits in central Karameikos, a forest inhabited by the majority of the Callarii elves, as well as a large number of Alfheim refugees. Less dark and ominous than the western tract, it still has its dangerous wild animals, rogue monsters, and tribes of evil humanoids. The elven estates of Radlebb and Rifllian share these woods. In southeastern Karameikos lies the greatest of the kingdom’s woods, the Dymrak Forest. It stretches all the way from the borders of the Barony of Kelvin to the border of Thyatis. A mighty hardwood forest, its floor never sees the full light of day. Numerous nonhuman tribes call the Dymrak home, mostly violent humanoids but also Vyalia elves in the east and Callarii elves in the west. Most of the remaining land of Karameikos is lightly wooded – scattered small forests with patches of clear terrain suitable for pasturage and tillage. Humans settle in these areas most comfortably. One swamp, mentioned earlier, lies in Karameikos – the Blight Swamp, near the western border shared with the Five Shires. It is not a healthy temperate swamp; rather, an ugly landscape of dying trees and rotting vegetation dominates the sluggish, swollen delta where the western rivers meet the sea. Disease-bearing mosquitoes infest its still waters, and strange creatures glide under the surface. Mangrove islands are common, dripping with gray moss, adding to the haunted, desolate look. Even the light of day feels subdued and cheerless in this part of the nation. Appropriately enough, the southeastern portion of the swamp lies within the Barony of Halag (formerly the Black Eagle Barony and home of the Black Eagle baron). One large area of moors occupies the land northeast of the Barony of Kelvin. These moors boast flatlands and slightly rolling hills where underbrush is sparse and scrubby. Small rivers trickle through, and large patches of deceptive-looking bog can suck men and horses to their deaths in a matter of moments. This, too, is an eerie area, where strange howls drift through the night and nothing looks friendly or comforting during the day. The Moors of Kelvin and the blight Swamp are not the only marshy and swampy lands within the Kingdom of Adventure. There are many lowlands, bogs, marshes, and small swamps throughout Karameikos, particularly in more heavily wooded terrain. Water The map shows numerous rivers crossing through the nation. I Resources Karameikos is a new nation, and most of its trade revolves around its natural resources, both for export and for crafting into finished goods. The greatest resource of Karameikos remains its forests, which carry many names but stretch almost unbroken from eastern to western borders. A hin story tells of an adventurous halfling who be that he could travel from the Shires to Thyatis without once touching Karameikan soil – and won. King Stefan warily regards the disposition of these forests, seeing the ruin that unplanned plundering caused in his native Thyatis. Permits to lumber in quantity must be granted by the crown or by local barons in baronial lands. Lords or ladies of merely landed rank may not grant such permits for their own estates. King Stefan also posts royal advisers (usually elves) to inspect large-scale logging operations. Clear-cutting (removing all trees regardless of suitability) is avoided except in cases where the land will be converted immediately to farming. The deep woods of Karameikos still lie untamed and unsettled, and the king has established a number of elven estates in these areas to guarantee their continued viability. Very little logging goes on here. Both deep and light woods are home to a burgeoning population of wild game, including both normal animals and monstrous creatures. Deer, elk, stags, and wild boars are common, as are smaller game creatures such as foxes and pheasants, and large predators such as wolves and mountain lions. Small farms occupy a good portion of Karameikos’s open land, worked by freemen who owe their allegiance to a landed lord or baron. Karameikos’s soil is rich and dark. While the nation cannot compete with Darokin, the great economic powerhouse to the north, it provides sufficient yields to feed its people well, with enough surplus to export (most recently to Thyatis, which has been wracked by food riots in recent years). Mines are numerous in the Wufwolde Hills, especially gnome and dwarven ones. These works produce iron in great quantity and small amounts of precious metals as well. Gold and silver are found in the southern Altan Tepes, and many people try to establish mines there. Some meet with great success; most meet with death at the hands of the humanoids that infest that part of the country. More gold and silver lie in deep places, already smelted and stamped. Karameikos was once the nation of Traladara, its time of greatness long past and its wonders turned into ruined lairs. Many adventurers explore and plunder these lost sites, bringing in further revenue for the kingdom as they return the treasures of the past to general circulation. Finally, many cave complexes lurk in Karameikos, especially in the Black Peak Mountains and Wufwolde Hills. Caverns are, of course, ideal locations for lost civilizations, hidden bandit tribes, ancient sleeping monsters, and so forth. The Hand of Man All of the cities and towns introduced below are fully detailed in Chapter IV: Cities and Towns. Other Communities: In addition to these villages, towns, and cities, many smaller communities (population 500 or less) dot the kingdom. The DM can add these villages as needed to support original adventures. In general, such villages are unremarkable except for (perhaps) some legendary local hero, and each has no more than the basic community services. Other Constructions Besides the various communities scattered throughout Karameikos, other features built by the populace are worth noting. Roads: Four major roads span Karameikos and are important enough to be named. The Westron Road runs from Mirros to Fort Doom through Radlebb Keep and Luln. The Eastron Road runs from Krakatos to Rugalov Village through the southern Dymrak Forest. The Windrush Road starts south of Kelvin and loops through Rifflian and Verge, terminating at Threshold. Lastly, the King’s Road runs from Mirros to Krakatos (where the Eastron Road branches off), north (past where the Windrush road breaks off) to Kelvin and Penhaligon, and ending just past King’s Road Keep on the Darokin border. Beyond King’s Road Keep the road passes into Darokin and on to the major trading city of Selenica. The king maintains the roads of Karameikos well, using paving stone whenever possible, or crushed stone where paving stone is not available. Bridges of wood span small streams, bridges of stone cross large ones, and ferries cross the great rivers. Units of the Karameikan army regularly patrol the roads, quickly clearing accidents such as rock slides and other blockages. While these roads provide speedy movement for adventurers in a hurry, they were not built with this purpose in mind. Rather, the roads of Karameikos are modeled upon Thyatian roads, whose main purpose was the rapid movement of trade wagons and troops through the nation. In the event of an invasion or other military emergency, troops could be deployed to almost any part of the nation in a matter of days. More than three-quarters of Karameikos’s imports and exports move along these roads, and King Stefan considers them a priority asset for maintaining the nation’s strength. The Eastron, Westron, and King’s Roads receive regular maintenance, the Windrush only when a major blockage or slide occurs. If they were fully abandoned, the roads would degenerate to trails in a decade, and might vanish entirely soon afterward (as has a road south of Mirros to the port’s original docks on Marilenev Bay). Trails lace the region as well, and those used often enough to provide rapid transit through an area are marked on the map. In general, many trails and paths run through the forests, though most of them do not go exactly in the intended direction of the traveler. Ruins: Many ruined cities, forgotten temples, abandoned settlements, ancient mines, and other sites of legend and lore exist in Karameikos. However, most of these are lost, either overgrown by the surrounding forest, built over by other towns and cities, or vanished from all but the most ancient maps. One exception is Koriszegy Keep, a famous (if not infamous) site in Traladaran legend. The inhabitants of this now ruined castle destroyed themselves with a great curse that still lingers on, seeking out those who trespass on the ground. Even today unwary travelers fall to the Curse of the Koriszegy. (for more information on Koriszegy Keep, see the sidebar on page 85.) Using the Maps The map of Karameikos is broken down into hexagonal areas, each area containing a symbol such as trees, hills, or mountains. These symbols indicate the general type of terrain present in the hex area. Note that the area within the hex is not exclusively of that type. Hills and trees lie in clear terrain, meadows and tors in wooded terrain, and level sections in mountainous terrain. The symbols indicate only the predominant type of terrain in the hex, and are used for purposes of determining movement costs and random encounters, as well as providing the DM with an idea of what the region looks like. Movement is detailed in Chapter 14 of the Player’s Handbook and Chapter 14 of the DUNGEON MASTER Guide, but the general rule is that characters can travel twice their movement rate (MV) in miles per day, across open terrain such as plains or grassland. Thus, an unencumbered man (MV 12) can travel 24 miles in a day without exhaustion. Think of the value of miles covered in a single day as a number, which is the number of movement points an individual can use (our example individual has 24 movement points). Different types of terrain have different movement-point costs per mile (it is more difficult to move through mountainous terrain than clear). A marsh, for example, costs 8 movement points per mile to cross, such that our example above could cross only 3 miles in a typical day. So far so good? Now look at the scale for the Kingdom of Karameikos map. Each hex represents 8 miles. Characters moving through each hex must “pay” for each mile in that hex in order to cross it. For our example, an individual could cross 3 hexes (24 miles) of plains in a single day. These hexes are just an approximation of position, much like the squares used for movement in the FIRST QUEST game. It may take several days to cross a particularly nasty stretch of land, but, by the same token, a hard day’s ride along the roads might carry one from the capital to nigh on the borders of the kingdom. Terrain types also affect the type of encounters in that area. Some creatures are native to mountains, others to swamps, still others to forests. The frequency and type of encounters often is determined by the terrain. A brief description of these terrain types follows. Clear Clear terrain lacks obstacles or impediments that slow movement, or it has a large number of paths that allow relatively free movement in all directions. Agricultural areas, pastureland, and farmland all fall under this category. Clear terrain costs ½ movement point/mile to cross, so an individual with MV 12 can move 48 miles in a day across clear terrain. Encounters in clear terrain are determined on the Clear column of the encounter chart. Grassland Grassland includes steppes and savanna and describes a large region of open, unsettled prairie, bereft of many large trees but with sufficient ground cover to allow creatures to lie in ambush in the tall grasses. Grassland costs 1 movement point/mile to cross, so that our traveler with MV 12 could hike 24 miles per day through this terrain. Grassland uses the Plain/Scrub chart for encounters. Table: Clear/Grassland Terrain Hill Hill hexes tend to be foothills: rising uplands that cluster about the base of mountains and are only slightly more suitable for movement. Hills cost 4 movement points/mile to cross, such that a man with MV 12 can move 6 miles per day. Hills use the Hills column for encounters. Forested Hills This terrain includes rolling hills covered with hardwood (in the southern regions and lowlands) or softwood pines (in more rugged areas and farther north). Forested Hills costs 6 movement points/mile to cross, so that an individual with MV 12 can move 4 miles per day. Hill/Forest uses the Hills column for encounters. Table: Forested Hills Light Forest Light forest is fairly open woods with little undergrowth. Light forest costs 2 movement points/mile to cross, such that an individual with MV 12 can move 12 miles per day. Light forest uses the Forest column for encounters. Heavy Forest Heavy forest consists of dark, overgrown woods with a great deal of brush and other undergrowth. Heavy forests cost 4 movement points/ mile to cross, such that our individual with MV 12 can move 6 miles per day. Heavy forest uses the Forest column for encounters. Table: Light Forest/Heavy Forest Mountain The mountains of Karameikos vary from the rounded, tree-covered slopes of the western Cruth to the sharp, jagged spines of the Black Peaks and Altan Tepes ranges. Mountain terrain generally costs 6 movement points per mile, so that a traveler with MV 12 can move 4 miles per day through mountains. The DM can rule that the mountains in question are relatively low and easy to cross, or serve as deadly, impenetrable peaks. In the former case, movement would cost only 4 points per mile. Table: Mountain Swamp Swamps are marshy fens of soft land broken by wide areas of shallow water, which (like jungle) often require frequent backtracking to avoid treacherous spots. Swamp costs 8 movement points/ mile, so that an individual with MV 12 can pass through only 3 miles per day (crossing the Blight Swamp in western Karameikos would take eight days). Moor Moors and bogs closely resemble swamps, save that they tend to have more solid ground. Moor costs 4 movement points/mile to move through, so that an individual with MV 12 could cross 6 miles in a single day (two and one-half days to cross the Kelvin Moor in central Karameikos, north to south). Table: Swamp/Moor/Bog River Rivers are both obstacles and avenues for travel. To individuals crossing a river, the presence of the river costs 1 additional movement point, in addition to all other costs. Streams, which are smaller and not shown on the Karameikos map, cost only ½ movement point. The presence of a bridge or ford negates this cost. The speed of the current for Karameikan rivers is an average of 30 feet per round, or ½ mile per hour. A boat’s speed is enhanced or diminished by that amount. Boats cannot pass upstream through rapids and cataracts, and can pass downstream through them only at risk of being holed and sunk. A lesser cataract has a base 20% chance of holing a boat, a medium cataract 40%, and a greater cataract 60%. The chance rises to 100% for a waterfall. Ocean-going ships are not normally found on rivers, though they might sail up to Mirros and, on rare occasions, Kelvin. The Blight Swamp prevents ships from using the westernmost river system, and the easternmost river (the Rugalov) can be sailed for only about 10 miles beyond the village of Rugalov. Beyond these points the rivers can be navigated only by small boats. Shipping Lane Trail markings on the ocean denote commonly used shipping lanes. They have no benefit to speed, but are well known by mariners as being safe and free from reefs, shoals, and permanent raiders. Trail: Paths and small trails lace the land of Karameikos. The only ones shown are those used often enough and well enough to allow passage of a standard wagon (with no room to pass). They also have enough head room to permit a rider on horseback to pass without difficulty and are generally straight enough to be used as a means of regular travel. The presence of a trail halves the movement cost in the directions the trail is running; this benefit is gained only by those moving along the trail. A heavy forest with a cost of 4 movement points/mile would have a cost of 2 movement points/mile for those traveling along a trail. Encounters on trails are those of the surrounding terrain Road The four major roads of Karameikos have been built and maintained by the benevolent hand of King Stefan. They link the major cities and towns of the nation. Paving stones rest upon a bed of crushed rock along most of the route, which is sufficiently wide to handle wagons moving in both directions. Treat roads as clear terrain in the directions they run – that is, ½ movement point/mile – such that an individual with MV can travel 48 miles along a road in a single day, regardless of the terrain the road crosses. Should travelers leave the road, normal movement rates take effect. Road encounters are often provided with their own chart, but otherwise use the encounter of the terrain the characters cross. Cities and Other Sites of Interest A number of symbols represent large, singular sites of importance. These locations sit in the center of their respective hexes when determining distance unless noted. The terrain of a city site is the same as that of the surrounding terrain, even though the map symbol does not appear in the city hex. Special sites include: Capital: The central and largest city in the nation. Mirros is the capital of Karameikos. City: Community with a population of at least 20,000. Outside of Mirros, the only city in the nation is Kelvin. Town: Community with a known population of no less than 1,000 and no greater than 20,000. There are a large number of towns in Karameikos. Village: Community with a known population of less than 1,000. Not all villages are noted on the Karameikos map. Palace: This symbol is used if the palace (or other royal dwelling or seat of power) is significantly removed from a city. The capital of Karameikos is also the site of the palace. Castle: A large-scale military encampment lacking an immediately supporting civilian population, but usually used as the seat of a local ruler. No castles exist in Karameikos that are not connected to larger cities or towns. Fort: A step down from a full castle, a fort usually means an outpost with a local ruler. Fort Doom in the former Black Eagle Barony was one such fort, but the growth of the town of Halag at its base changes its notation to that of a town. Keep: Usually a single stone building lacking a supporting civilian population, keeps serve as military outposts in Karameikos, but have other uses in other lands. In magical Glantri they are usually the homes of powerful wizards. Ruins: The remains of a castle, keep, palace, town, city, or similar location, with enough material left to identify it as such. Many ruins exist only as underground complexes, their entrances discovered by chance. The only ruin noted on the map of Karameikos is Koriszegy Keep. Camp: A regular camping location, usually used by nomadic peoples, such as the Ethengar raiders of the far north. There are no such camps in Karameikos. Lighthouse: Not used in Karameikos but more common among the island trading nations to the south. A lighthouse resembles a keep outfitted with a beacon (either a huge bowl of flaming oil or a magical light). The beacon warns ships of perilous reefs or shoals and aids in navigation. Battlefield: The known site of a historic battle. Such locations are often marked by rich troves of rusted weaponry and undead spirits that haunt the place. National or internal borders: These mere divisions between the lands reflect more the desires of the rulers than any true level of control. They have no effect on movement. Their only effect on encounters is to change the nationality or allegiance of the patrols.